West Yorkshire Police officers are to use mobile devices to simplify and speed up the process of reporting crimes in a bid to reduce costs and improve efficiency as government cuts loom large.

Four thousand Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phablets will be issued to police officers and other members of staff and will replace traditional pen and paper note books. An ‘e-notebook’ will be used to record information and crimes can be reported using a secure online app that removes the need for police to return to the station.

Officials claim the deployment is one of the “biggest technological deployments in modern policing” and will free officers to spend more time on the street, dealing with crime and public safety.

Police go mobile

West Yorkshire Police says it is committed to providing the best possible service to local communities using mobile technology, which will help it deal with a £160 million reduction in funding between 2010 and 2016.

“Officers will be able to enter electronic witness statements and complete missing person forms without having to put pen to paper back at base,” explained Andy Battle, assistant chief constable. “Similarly, the device will allow users to view and update incidents whilst on the beat, increasing our visibility, responsiveness and presence on the streets.

“According to a national audit conducted in 2012 which looked at mobile working in policing across the UK, an average of 18 minutes of additional time on the streets was generated. From a West Yorkshire perspective, one minute of extra time on the street per officer, per day equates to a million pounds worth of additional policing annually.”

Earlier this year the Metropolitan Police announced an ambitious £200 million IT transformation plan that makes use of cloud and social media services and equips thousands of officers with mobile devices. Between 500 and 600 iPad Minis were ordered as part of a trial, but the Met indicated a wider choice of non-Apple devices would be offered as the plan progressed.

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Steve McCaskill is editor of TechWeekEurope and ChannelBiz. He joined
as a reporter in 2011 and covers all areas of IT, with a particular interest in telecommunications, mobile and networking, along with sports technology.